FRONT AND CENTRE

PITTSBURGH - It's no secret that centre depth is one of the most important keys to success in the NHL.
Darryl Sutter often talks about his team's top three down the middle - Elias Lindholm, Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund - and the stability, skill and options they give the Flames.
Tonight, they will face a Penguins team that boasts an impressive top-3 pivots of their own: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter.
Should be a heckuva battle between that group in this outing.
"Yep," said Sutter after the team's morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. "We think we're a veteran centreman group, but you look at their veteran centremen - they're older than ours. You do those six guys, it's pretty cool, actually."

Malkin skated in his 1,000th game in the Pens last outing on the road and will be feted tonight at home for the achievement. Crosby has played 1,127 games, while Carter has skated in 1,186.
Calgary's group doesn't have as many games under their belts (Backlund 844, Kadri 757 and Lindholm 681) but are an extremely experienced bunch that give the Flames an incredible amount of flexibility, especially on the road as will be the case here in Pittsburgh.
"They are some real veterans centres, both groups are really solid," said Backlund. "They have the two superstars, and Carter has been around the league, won Cups, so they're very strong down the middle, probably the strength of the team. So it's gonna be a challenge for us for sure."
Backlund has seen a heaping helping of the Pens' two-headed monster in Crosby and Malkin over the years but said playing against them nevers gets old.
He embraces the opportunity.
"I think it's fun. It's a good challenge," he said. "They've both been top players in this league for such a long time and yeah, it's always fun to play against them, same with Carter.
"It's always a challenge but I relish playing against better players in the league."
Crosby is firing on all cylinders as he enters the night with three goals and 10 points during the team's trio of wins and leads the team in scoring with 27 points.
"You have to look at what his strengths are and try and limit that, but it's like any top player in the league, you gotta be tight on them, kill plays early, make them play in the D zone, frustrate them that way - make them play on the wrong side of their red line so they defend all night," explained Backlund
The Flames will be looking for their third straight win against a Pens team that comes into the tilt on a three-game winning streak of their own. Calgary has won four of five and want to keep the momentum going in this fourth tilt of their six-game road swing.
"I think we've got to play our game, focus on our game," said Backlund. "Come out, have a good start and play fast, get pucks in and get on that forecheck and create some turnovers and get some O-zone time, creating chances, and then take away their time and space.
"They have a lot of highly skilled players over there so we've got to make sure they have no time out there and spend lots of time in their D zone."